Eastern Kentucky extends Neubauer's contract

Eastern Kentucky extends Neubauer's contract

<p>Jeff Neubauer, who led Eastern Kentucky to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years this past season, has agreed in principle to a contract extension through 2018.</p>

Richmond, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeff Neubauer, who led Eastern Kentucky to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years this past season, has agreed in principle to a contract extension through 2018.

The Colonels have won 49 games under Neubauer's direction over the previous two seasons and posted a 24-10 overall record in 2013-14, highlighted by a 79-73 triumph over top-seeded Belmont that gave Eastern Kentucky its sixth Ohio Valley Tournament crown.

Eastern Kentucky led second-seeded Kansas with under nine minutes to go in the Second Round of the NCAA South Regional before eventually being handed an 80-69 defeat.

Neubauer also guided the Colonels to the 2007 OVC Tournament title in his second season and owns a 167-122 record at the school. Eastern Kentucky won a school-record 25 games and earned a berth in the CIT Tournament in 2012-13.

The Colonels have also been successful off the court in the Neubauer era, having graduated over 90 percent of the program's players during his tenure.

"I am very proud of coach Neubauer and his staff, and the superb job they have done in recruiting the right kind of student-athlete to EKU," Eastern Kentucky president Michael Benson said. "As stellar as Jeff's win-loss record is, we should all be even more pleased by the fact that the program graduates more than 90 percent of the student-athletes that have exhausted their eligibility during Jeff's tenure. That is the most important statistic."